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Book Review: Bin Laden - The Man Who Declared War on America
By Ali Asadullah 04/09/2001
Author: Yossef Bodansky
Publisher: Forum and imprint of Prima Publishing, 1999 (hardcover) - 2001 (paperback)
Num. Pages: 224 (hardcover)
Price: $27.95 (hardcover), $17.95 (paperback)
It is expected that the name of Osama Bin Laden will continually resurface in the media in an almost predictable, cyclical manner. As if his image follows some strange rhythm of sunrise and sunset, he slips off the international radar for a period of time, only to resurface again, his myth conjured up by any range of individuals who find it expedient to utilize. Most recently, it was Colonel Qadhafi, of all people, who brought up Bin Laden's name. In a 2 1/2 hour long speech given to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of his rise to power, Qadhafi took a stab at the United States saying, "a thin man (Bin Laden) with a weight of about 50 kilograms and armed only with a kalashnikov ... scares America more than the former Soviet Union did," as reported by the AP.
It seems that Bin Laden continues to be a sort of "one size fits all" bogeyman when it comes to threats of international terrorism and instability. Just a week before Qadhafi's comments, CBS's
60 Minutes ran an expose on the preparedness of the United States' infamous information gathering organization, the National Security Agency (NSA). In the report, an NSA official cautioned that characters such as Osama Bin Laden potentially have a tactical communications advantage over the United States because of the alleged resources at his disposal, financial and otherwise.
For years, Muslims - while not necessarily agreeing with Bin Laden's activities or interpretations of Islam - have chafed at the use of Bin Laden's name as a broad indictment of Islam and Islamic revivalism. But, the source materials supporting the image of "Bin Laden as bogeyman" have been overwhelming. Once such piece of material is the latest literary contribution from Yossef Bodansky,
Bin Laden - The Man Who Declared War on America.
Originally published in 1999, the book was re-released in August 2001 in a more affordable paperback edition - a good thing for Muslims who don't want to pay full-price for a hardbound book filled with speculative claims.
Bodansky has been an intellectual thorn in the sides of Muslims for the better part of a decade. In 1989, he assumed directorship of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare and has written some six books on U.S. defense policy and foreign affairs, in which Muslims are often prominently featured. In general, Bodansky seems to prescribe to a vision of future western security in which various elements in the Muslim world will pose the greatest threat to the United States and her allies.
Bin Laden - The Man Who Declared War on America, continues along this line of thinking.
Purporting to provide a comprehensive analysis of Bin Laden, the man, Bodansky offers up an interesting perspective on the life of this enigmatic figure. He traces Bin Laden's life from his early days in his family's Saudi Arabian construction business to the hills of Afghanistan where is currently resides, well out of public view. Each step of the way, Bodansky adds the finishing touches to a picture of international terrorism in which Bin Laden is the linchpin and master puppeteer. And to the typical American reader, this book no doubt reaffirms the media influenced picture of Bin Laden that is currently so prevalent.
However, to the Muslim reader, and anyone careful enough to thoroughly examine scholarly works,
Bin Laden - The Man Who Declared War on America falls short on one very important note - it relies heavily on unnamed sources. In the book's introduction, Bodansky notes that many of his informants on this topic have spoken to him at great personal risk, therefore making it necessary to carefully mask their identities. Any journalist or researcher can empathize with this stance, however in omitting identities, Bodansky leaves the veracity of many of his claims to ride on his name alone. That is always very dangerous because it leaves a writer open to a great amount of criticism from his or her detractors.
But, beyond any of the typical protestations from Muslim ranks, Bin Laden - The Man Who Declared War on America takes a bigger hit from the cold hard facts surrounding the issue of international terrorism. In the 2001
USA v. Usama bin Laden et al trial in the Southern District of New York, many previously undisclosed details concerning Bin Laden and his organization came to light. When the dust settled and convictions and verdicts were handed down, one thing was very clear: The alleged international ring of terrorism led by Bin Laden was anything but the well oiled, well-organized, well-orchestrated machine depicted by much of the media and individuals such as Bodansky.
While the court proceedings did not entirely refute the assertions and premises of
Bin Laden - The Man Who Declared War on America, they did make some serious dents in them, and readers would do well to read court transcripts in conjunction with the book itself.
Bin Laden - The Man Who Declared War on America does however provide a very clear perspective on a particular school of thought on international relations. With the Arabists having long since been ousted from the halls of the State Department, thinkers more of Bodansky's ilk have been the order of the day. Muslims would do well to read this book so as to better understand where various elements of the U.S. foreign relations intelligentsia believe national security is headed.
NOTE: Transcripts of the Bin Laden trial can be found at http://cryptome.org/usa-v-ubl-dt.htm
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